NationStates Jolt Archive

I have always been curious to know, how do ratings work? I have the basic understandings of the ratings but I don't know how they are declared. I know a lot of people who constantly switch channels on the TV and/or radio. I, for example, when listening to the radio really hate commercials so as soon as one comes on I'll switch to another station.

I guess I guess I just don't understand how they can tell whose listening/watching what and when. :confused:

Can anybody explain to me how the ratings work and how they can be actually known?

it's stupid government agencies thinking they know whats best for the people to see / not see even though they don't. wait, thats not the type of ratings you were talking about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_Ratings

Wiki is your friend...

Wikipedia is your friend (and might be accurate as well).

Britain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcaster%27s_Audience_Research_Board (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcaster%27s_Audience_Research_Board)
America: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_Ratings

Edit: Bah! Beaten to the punch. :(

There is a select group of people with special boxes hooked up to their TVs that ratings groups use to get the ratings. Usually when somebody in the household is watching they have to indicate (with a remote) they are watching. Each night this info is sent through the phone line back to the ratings people who look at the demographics of each viewer and multiply it to find the projected total for the country.

That is the basic way it works.

it's stupid government agencies thinking they know whats best for the people to see / not see even though they don't.

Obviously you didn't even read the original post.

Obviously you didn't even read the original post.

see the updated version of the post.

as you watch big brother....


http://www.obeythepurebreed.com/images/big_brother_pug_dog.gif

A buddy of mine was in a "Nielson" family for a while. He may have artificially extended the run of The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd...

We were a Neilson family when hubby and I got married, but after we had the kids we didn't watch enough TV.

We still do the phone portion where they call and ask what we are planning on watching, but it's just so they can 'estimate viewers', they don't call after the fact.

We were a Neilson family when hubby and I got married, but after we had the kids we didn't watch enough TV.

We still do the phone portion where they call and ask what we are planning on watching, but it's just so they can 'estimate viewers', they don't call after the fact.


Also not sure if it is the same in The States, but her in the UK they measure surges in electricity use during ad breaks(the cuppa tea run) and so can work out a % of what what channel people are tuned into at which times.

Check this: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question433.htm

as you watch big brother....


http://www.obeythepurebreed.com/images/big_brother_pug_dog.gif

...

Oh! It's a dog! And not a gaping bloody maw!

Also not sure if it is the same in The States, but her in the UK they measure surges in electricity use during ad breaks(the cuppa tea run) and so can work out a % of what what channel people are tuned into at which times.

It's more t'other way around. The national grid look at what will be popular viewing and then will make energy provisions for the however many million kettles will get simutaneously switched on in the ad break

as far as i know they pay a certain number of people across the country and proportionate to the numbers in their demographic to have recording devices in their homes to monitor what they watch.

i don't know who 'they' are though.

There is a select group of people with special boxes hooked up to their TVs that ratings groups use to get the ratings. Usually when somebody in the household is watching they have to indicate (with a remote) they are watching. Each night this info is sent through the phone line back to the ratings people who look at the demographics of each viewer and multiply it to find the projected total for the country.

That is the basic way it works.

That's one way. They also had people write a log out (Nielsen diary) waaaay back when I was in television/radio research.

My family was a sample group for BARB for 4 years or thereabouts. They gave us vouchers to do it, but when my sister and I left home for uni they said we weren't representative of a family unit any more and stopped monitoring us. I was eternally grateful for them fucking off tbh, I hated those boxes. Always malfunctioning and the remotes were shit.

That's one way. They also had people write a log out (Nielsen diary) waaaay back when I was in television/radio research.

Yeah, we used to do that in Australia too about 10 or 15 years ago.